Interview: Joanna Wylde, author of 'Reaper's Legacy'

Interview: Joanna Wylde, author of 'Reaper's Legacy'

It’s been an exciting ride for author Joanna Wylde when word spread that Reaper’s Property, her 2013 book about yummy bikers, was good reading. Reaper’s Property rocketed to the top of the Amazon best-seller list and earned Joanna a legion of devoted fans. The stories revolve around the Reapers, an old-school motorcycle club (MC), their unconventional lifestyle, and, of course, their romances. Reaper’s Legacy, the highly anticipated sequel to Reaper’s Property, became available late last month, and Joanna hasn’t disappointed her fans … it rocks! Joanna joins us to talk about Reaper’s Legacy, and we are excited to welcome Lori Cameron, a woman who lives in the MC world. Lori helped Joanna iron out the kinks in Reaper’s Legacy. Lori has kindly agreed to talk about living in the MC culture and her contribution to Reaper’s Legacy.

Lea: Welcome back to HEA, Joanna. It’s wonderful to chat with you again. Congratulations on the success of your Reaper books! And, Lori, thank you so much for agreeing to join us today, it’s a thrill to be able to talk with you.

Joanna, when we spoke last year you mentioned that you’d been unable to connect with any women from the MC life.

Joanna: You’re right — with the first book, I had to rely on talking to men in clubs for information, or reading about club life in books and news articles. That was really hard, because the way men see women’s lives and the way women see them are often very different. Once Reaper’s Property came out, I started hearing from women in clubs, which has made life much easier.

I met Lori when she posted on my Facebook page. We started messaging back and forth and really hit it off. She’s not the only woman in the MC world helping me, but she’s the one I’ve leaned on the most.

Lea: It’s always good to hear about positive relationships that are fostered through social media.

Lori, had you read romance novels prior to reading Reaper’s Legacy?

Lori: Yes. I’ve read lots of romances, but Reaper’s Property was the first MC book that really touched me, because it felt like Joanna was writing about my life. I like all kinds of books, though. Another of my favorite authors right now is Gabrielle Bisset.

Lea: Joanna indicated you were extremely helpful in helping her to find which parts in Reaper’s Legacy needed tweaking for accuracy. Had you ever beta read a book before? Did you find it difficult separating the fantasy from the real deal when providing feedback?

Lori: No, I hadn’t beta read a book before. It wasn’t hard giving feedback, but I did fall in love with Ruger.

Joanna: Lori has claimed Ruger (the hero of Reaper’s Legacy) as her own. I was so frustrated by the end of writing the book that I said she could have the stupid man … Sometimes characters can make you crazy, even if they aren’t real.

Lea: Ruger is easy to love, isn’t he, Lori?

The Reapers MC is patriarchal, a “man’s world.” I asked Joanna about women the MC culture when we spoke last year, and she said, “There is no question that the MC world is sexist. The levels of that sexism vary from club to club and there are even clubs that let women ride with the men, but for the majority it’s about the men and their bikes. Despite that, women definitely have roles within the club. For one thing, everyone has a family — even hardcore bikers — and I’d bet that most of those guys clean it up a bit when they visit their grandmothers.”

Would you describe your club as hardcore, Lori? What role do the women have in your club? Are you a biker’s “old lady”?

Lori: Yes, my club is hardcore, but you have to remember that it’s not my club — it’s my man’s club. And how hardcore they are varies by location. The guys where I live (in the South) are more laid-back than the guys up North, but they can be just as hardcore as they need to be when it counts. I’ve been around clubs since I was 18 years old, and I’ve been with my old man for 14 years. And, yes, I am an old lady, and I do wear a property patch.

In our club, the women support the men. We take care of things like food for club events, welcome visitors, and the guys know that if something were to happen, we’d have their backs. We’ve had a couple of times at the clubhouse when there’s been word that things might be happening. The club has the house next door, too, and there’s a gate between the backyards. They send the women next door, because they know if s*** goes down, the women need to be on the outside to bail (them) out of jail.

Joanna: I’ve talked to a lot of women around the country, in a range of clubs. One thing that I’ve found fascinating is that they all say it’s a man’s world, and that the men make the decisions. But almost every woman I’ve talked to has told me that she, personally — unlike most women attached to clubs — talks to her man about all kinds of things. Either I’ve managed to find the most empowered, independent women in the whole MC world, or women are far more critical to the survival of a club than anyone is willing to admit. Life in an MC isn’t always easy, and weak women don’t last very long.

Lea: Joanna’s books have given me new insight and understanding of the MC culture, and to some extent they’ve corrected some of the preconceived notions I had about bikers. However, when the Hell’s Angels, for example, make the news they are referred to as an “outlaw motorcycle gang,” and it’s associated with criminal activity, arrests following an undercover sting operation, etc. Ergo, when citizens see a big, tattooed, pierced biker wearing a leather cut with a club insignia on the back, they tend to grab their kids and run the other way.

I’m thinking of the scene in Reaper’s Legacy when Sophie (heroine) is standing in a restaurant parking lot talking to her middle-class cute “citizen” date, and thanks to Sophie’s son, Noah, Ruger spots them. Ruger turns on his biker mojo, and Sophie’s poor date runs for the hills. Lol.

Seriously, though, and not to generalize, but I think people view those who embrace the MC life as ill-educated criminals who have no sense of morality. How would you ladies respond to that mind-set?

Lori: Well, I have a degree, and I’m a certified mechanic and business owner. My old man was a trucker for 31 years before he retired. Most bikers need to work to support themselves — they hold down jobs and take care of their families. If you’ve got a brother who’s nothing but a low-life criminal, what do you want him for? Are you going to be able to trust him to watch your back? You’ve got to believe that your brothers have your back and that the old ladies do, too.

Joanna: Most of the club members I’ve met are solid working-class people with a broad range of educational backgrounds. Yes, there are definitely criminals out there, and different clubs have different cultures. But for the most part, if they are all members of highly sophisticated criminal networks, they aren’t very good at it. The people I’ve met aren’t rolling around in giant piles of cash.

As for morals, I think club members follow their own code of morality, and that code differs from the mainstream. Clearly, some club members have committed heinous crimes, and that’s inexcusable. I would never dismiss or minimize that reality. But it’s not fair to judge an entire culture based on the actions of any subgroup, no matter how scary bikers might look with their tattoos and leather.

Lea: I agree, Joanna. Is there a difference between a motorcycle club and a motorcycle gang? Please explain the difference.

Lori: The only difference is who you’re talking to. Cops will call them gangs. Citizens who don’t know any different, they’ll call them gangs. To the people in them, they’re motorcycle clubs.

Joanna: I think it depends on how you define the word “gang.” Within the culture, they’re called clubs, and that’s very important to members. The best definition I’ve seen to distinguish between clubs and gangs is where their income comes from. If they get the bulk of their income from illegal activities — or committing crimes is their primary activity — I’d call them a gang. Some clubs fall into that category, at least based on my research. The majority of clubs don’t, so I think “gang” is probably the wrong word to describe them. What really binds a club together are social ties, a love of riding and the desire for brotherhood that goes beyond what’s available in mainstream society.

Lea: In a scene in Reaper’s Legacy during a club meeting or “Church,” Duck, one of the elder Reaper members, talks about the life and his support for making peace with a rival MC:

“Here’s the thing,” Duck continued. “That little p**** Hunter is onto something. We’re the same kind of men where it counts. We know what life is really about, and that’s the freedom to ride and live on our terms. We joined this club because we don’t give a s*** about citizens and their rules. I’ve always taken what I wanted when I wanted it, no apologies. I live free. Any laws broken along the way are just collateral.”

Lori, is that an apt description of why the MC life appeals to members? Is it the freedom?

Lori: It’s freedom, it’s brotherhood and it’s family. MCs stick together. Whether you’re right or wrong, they’ll stand right there with you. That doesn’t always happen in blood families. I could make a phone call right now and have all the brothers at my house. They’d drop what they’re doing, and they’d come. But it’s also about fun. We like to party, and we like to ride.

Lea: Joanna, when we chatted last year about your MC research, you said, “I’ll never be quite the same again, to be honest.”

Can you expand on that? And do you still feel that way after collaborating with Lori?

Joanna: My worldview has changed. I have to admit I didn’t go into this project with a high opinion of MCs. I doubt I’d do well as an old lady in one, and that’s just fine with me. But when people stop being stereotypes and you get to know them — good and bad — seeing them judged unfairly (ticks) you off. Club members are like everyone else on earth. You just don’t know what kind of person someone is until you get to know them.

Lea: Like his Reaper brothers, Ruger, the hero in Reaper’s Legacy, is tough as nails, he values his freedom and has no intention of settling down. Ruger met heroine Sophie when she was an innocent 17-year-old involved with his odious half-brother Zach. Sophie gets pregnant with Zach’s baby, but it’s Ruger who is with her the night her son, Noah, is born. Noah’s birth is the defining moment in Ruger’s life, isn’t it, Joanna? Please tell us about Ruger and his relationship with Noah.

Joanna: Noah’s birth changed Ruger forever. He looks at Noah like a son, and he’s part of the fabric of Ruger’s life — he’d no more abandon Noah than he’d cut off his own arm. Like any parent, he’d die to protect his boy, and because Sophie is Noah’s mother, Ruger is committed to caring for her, too.

Lea: Sophie has a rough go of it, but she’s independent and determined to raise Noah on her own. Noah is now 7 years old, and they are living in Seattle. Ruger has watched out for them over the years, but why does he come to her and insist that she and Noah come live with him in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Reaper territory?

Joanne: Ruger never wanted Sophie to move away, but she had compelling reasons for leaving the area, and he understood that. When he realized she was failing despite her best efforts, he had to step in. It’s one thing to respect someone’s desire for space, and quite another to stand by and watch them crash and burn. For Noah’s sake, Ruger had to take action.

Lea: The sexual chemistry between Ruger and Sophie is incredible, but their relationship is tempestuous for a number of reasons. What conflicts do they face?

Joanne: The biggest conflict is that the Reapers MC is a huge part of Ruger’s life, a part he’ll never give up. Sophie doesn’t like MCs, and she wants nothing to do with the Reapers. To make matters worse, Ruger doesn’t want to settle down into a monogamous relationship and Sophie won’t settle for anything less.

Lea: Sweet Em has a major secondary role in Reaper’s Legacy. I love Em. You further develop her character and complicate her love life. Will we be seeing her story soon?? There is some begging involved here. Lol.

Joanna: Em’s story will play out in Devil’s Game, the next Reapers MC book. Reaper’s Legacy has some major hints about what’s next in her life.

Lea: Yes, Em shows her mettle in Reaper’s Legacy. As well, you are developing the Reaper world and giving readers a lot to chew on with regard to their associations and intrigue due to rivals outside the club.

Lori, do you like the Reaper men? Whose book would you like to read next? J

Lori: Yes, I like them. And I already know whose book is next — Em’s. I beta read that one, too. But then I want Picnic, and we’ve got to get Bolt out of prison and back into his rags (club vest with insignia). I’d also like to read about Bam Bam and Dancer.

So, Joanna, don’t keep us in suspense: When can we look forward to Em’s book being available and what is the lineup for future books?

Joanna: Well, Devil’s Game, as mentioned, is next and after that I’m doing Picnic’s story. Devil’s Game takes us outside the Reapers to explore their rivalry with another club. It’s scheduled for release in June. Picnic’s story is still coming together, but it should be out in the fall of 2014.

Lea: Your fans will be looking forward to more Reapers, Joanna (myself included). Thank you so much for spending time with us again.

Lori, thank you again for agreeing to share your insights about the MC culture.

Lea Franczak cannot remember a time when she didn’t have a book in her hand. She’s read and enjoyed multiple genres but is especially partial to contemporary and erotic romance, dark gritty romantic suspense, paranormal romance and has recently become a New Adult junkie. Lea has been blogging and reviewing since 2008 and is also HEA’s Tweeter Extraordinaire. Follow HEA on Twitter (@HEAusatoday).